Kawa Garmyane

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The family of Kawa Garmyane, a journalist shot dead in Kurdistan in December 2013, has vowed to continue the fight for justice after Mahmoud Sangawi, a military commander charged withordering the killing, was exonerated on Sunday by a court in Kalar. The court also upheld the death penalty handed to Twana Khaleefa, who was charged with carrying out the killing.

In the stairwell between the newsroom and studios of Nalia
Radio and Television (NRT) stand a charred monitor, a burnt vision mixer, and
smashed camera lens. They make up a display of equipment damaged when armed men
set fire to the station in Sulaymaniyah, a city in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan
which is home to much of the Kurdish media.

One of the strongest memories I have of meeting President
Masoud Barzani is the winding drive up to his mountain-top headquarters in the
town of Salahuddin outside Erbil. That was in 2008, when a CPJ delegation
secured a pledge
from the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to "create an
atmosphere that is conducive to journalism."

On Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed its
concerns over the press freedom climate in Iraqi Kurdistan at a press
conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. where we launched our
special report, "Mountain
of impunity looms over Kurdistan journalists." You can watch a video of the
press conference here.

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Iraqi Kurdistan may seem calm compared with much of the
Middle East, but the media are vulnerable whenever internal political tensions
flare. Amid impunity for anti-press attacks, including murder and arson,
journalists say they must self-censor on topics like religion, social
inequality, and corruption associated with powerful officials. A CPJ special report by Namo Abdulla

The Iraqi city of Mosul is once again one of the world's deadliest places for journalists. In the past two months, the capital of Nineveh province has witnessed a series of targeted assassinations that, according to local press freedom groups, have led to an exodus of journalists from the city fearing for their safety.